The Doty Belt Lift Assist Harness

Anyone who works with medical patients on a regular basis knows how difficult it can be to have to move, lift, and carry those who cannot move, lift, or carry themselves. From accident victims to those who have become bedridden due to age or illness, first responders and caregivers are at an increased risk of developing back problems because of the stress and strain that their backs must endure in order to care for patients that do not have the ability to move. Specifically designed for first responders and caregivers, it was a firefighter who came up with the ingenious design of the Doty Belt Lift Assist Harness in California.

All first responders and caregivers are trained in methods of safely moving patients, but these methods aren’t always practical or safe. Obese patients, for example, present a challenge and increased risk of injury to first responders and caregivers because traditional carrying and lifting techniques are simply ineffective and can be dangerous to the patient and the first responders/caregivers. With obesity now a national problem, first responders and caregivers must be able to recognize when traditional moving and lifting techniques are impractical and must understand their alternatives. Unfortunately, there are not many clear alternatives on the market, but the Doty Belt Lift Assist Harness in California is aiming to change all that – while protecting the backs of first responders and caregivers at the same time.

Not only do obese patients require more personnel in order to lift or carry, there are also considerations that must be made for the sensitivity of the obese patient’s skin and any injuries which the patient might have sustained. The best way to move a bariatric patient, and any other patient who suffers from limited mobility, is with the assistance of a harness that can easily and safely attach to the patient no matter what position the patient is in. The best harness for the job should also provide ample access to support points that first responders and caregivers can grip to control the patient while moving. With the right harness, first responders and caregivers can also drastically reduce their own risk of sustaining a back injury while attempting to move or carry a patient.

The designer of the Doty Belt Lift Assist Harness in California, Firefighter Glen Doty, was inspired to design the lift assist system after his experiences on an emergency medical call on which he and his crew needed to lift a patient from the floor to a wheelchair. Normally a simple task, the size of the patient and the limited space in the area where the firefighters had to work both presented challenges that Doty and his crew had not anticipated. The firefighters were eventually able to engineer a solution, but Doty is certain that if there had existed a lift assist harness in California at the time, he and his crew would have been in and out of that call in a matter of minutes, instead of the two hours that it eventually took.

To learn more about how our lift assist system can reduce the risk of back injuries to first responders and caregivers, or to place a single or bulk order for the Doty Belt Lift Assist Harness in California, visit us on the web at DotyBelt.com.

About Glen D.

Glen Doty is currently a Captain with a California Fire Department and has been in the fire service for 20 years.
He hopes that you will find this tool to be a very valuable asset, so you can have a good healthy back for years to come.